An aerial depiction of the redesigned Metropolitan Park shows a large central performance lawn, riverfront walkways, child play areas and more. | City of Jacksonville
Published on September 12, 2025 at 1:59 pm
Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Sign up for the Jacksonville Today newsletter.
The redesign of Metropolitan Park in Downtown Jacksonville is nearing completion, and the project could be close to construction next year.
The most recent design was shared with the public during a town hall meeting Thursday. Residents gazed at depictions of segments like the Performance Lawn, River Edge walkway, Riverwalk and Hillside Play area.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
Designers and city officials asked people to make a final suggestion or two before the final engineering is done. City Council could consider approval in just over a year.
The most recent design was winnowed down from comments made at previous gatherings over the past year. People at the town hall this week were asked to suggest what parts of the 15-acre revamp should be built first.
The city’s capital improvement plan includes more than $13 million for the redesign, and the city must prioritize what gets done first, said Recreation Department chief Daryl Joseph.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
“If there are other things that need to be brought up, today is the opportunity to do so,” he said. “From a priority standpoint, if we had to scale anything back, or of the elements we are building, which ones are the most important to you as an individual?”
The possibility of scaling back the redesign into phases “is a shame,” retired city General Counsel Tracey Arpen said as he checked out the final designs Thursday. He was there when the park opened in 1982 and made suggestions of what to include in the most recent design.
“I am concerned that we will get some in, then they will say, ‘We have other priorities,'” Arpen said. “Just do it.”
Metro Park history
Metropolitan Park was built as a festival and concert venue and became home to the Jazz Festival for many years, as well as outdoor concerts and festivals.
Its concrete stage was removed in 2016, although events are still held at the site. But the park has been underutilized for years.
New construction is rising all around the park, including the Four Seasons hotel on its western border, a new fire station to the east, and the EverBank Stadium renovation across Gator Bowl Boulevard.
A park revitalization team was formed in 2024 to begin the redesign, and town hall meetings were held so people could make suggestions.
The Civitas architectural firm of of Denver developed the latest design after people commented about three possible redesigns during a town hall meeting in June.
“This is an opportunity for the community to come back and see the improvements and see the work that has been done since the last community feedback session,” Roberts said. “We are actually showing where we are with the layout and concept plan before we go into design phase, so if there are any major things that stand out that you have seen over the last several months since we have gone to the community, now is another opportunity.”
The final proposal shows grassy areas for events, lots of shade, nature walks and play areas. Most of the existing tree cover would remain, with 300 new trees to be planted.
The redesign has an updated version of the big central lawn where the Jazz Festival hosted hundreds of fans in the past. Its height would be raised a few feet for better drainage and protection from flooding, and flattened so people can picnic or play on it, Joseph said.
“It was important to make sure that we kept the shade canopy of the park, even add to that canopy, which we are able to do,” Joseph said. “We wanted to make sure we did have a big open space available for performances, festivals — that is one of things that as we continue to build out Downtown, we wanted to make sure we had space for that.”
The new entrance is further west, with a wide crosswalk across Gator Bowl Boulevard to get to EverBank Stadium’s Lot J.
Children’s play areas, including a fountain, are included in the design. So is a second, smaller concert stage, plus a picnic area under trees along the park’s western hill. And part of the new riverfront design includes wetlands that help absorb floodwaters.
One of the dozens of people who attended Thursday’s meeting was Rachel Harris, who co-founded a social media agency for restaurants and hotels. She likes the amount of trees preserved in the proposal and other features in it.
“I am a huge advocate of water and things for our kids to do,” Harris said. “It covers my basics, honestly, from the things that I am looking for from a park. It is walkable; there’s ample shade; there’s activities for children; and it is also a multipurpose space that we can flip for events and such.”
Arpen, who has lobbied for tree preservation across the city in recent years, said he is “really pleased” with the way the proposed redesign has evolved over past meetings.
“It is a long way from where it started off from the designs, they are saving so many trees,” Arpen said. “I wish the riverwalk was more than 16 feet wide, with all that space, but it is what it is. … I especially like the walkways going through the marshlands.”
Visitors also were asked to pick a new home for a 22-foot-tall concrete alligator statue that has been part of the park for decades after it was donated to the city in the 1980s. The gator is currently planted at the far west side of the park, and visitors were asked to put small green alligators on the map to designate where the real thing should go.
Next step is to complete the concept design and engineering. Funding for construction of the first phase is expected to be approved in October 2026, Roberts said.
